The Blacksmith's Legacy
Blacksmith Kang.
Even Jeron did not know his full name.
He only knew that the man was the sole blacksmith in Eumyang-myeon and a lifelong resident of Seosan.
Back when Jeron was living on Earth, he had settled down in Eumyang-myeon and crossed paths with the man, occasionally sharing drinks and exchanging conversations with him alongside the other villagers.
Jeron recalled him as a rather guarded individual who did not open his heart easily.
He had a wife and a daughter, but he had lost his wife right before his eyes during the Great Invasion.
He had once tearfully confessed that his only reason for living was his daughter, Yu-jeong, and that he was consumed by guilt for failing to protect his wife.
The puzzle pieces in Jeron's mind clicked into place.
Thinking back, it was highly unlikely for there to be another blacksmith in such a rural village.
A month ago, Jeron had found a dead man's diary in front of the supermarket.
The entry mentioned a mechanical engineering major at the shelter who had crafted crossbows and distributed them to the survivors.
That engineer was undoubtedly Blacksmith Kang.
Considering the absence of vehicles at the blacksmith shop, it was reasonable to assume that Kang had loaded up his tools and equipment and headed to the shelter with his daughter.
Though Jeron could not be entirely certain since this was the world after his death, the sketches made him sure of it.
"They say it's a small world."
Scattered across the floor were the remnants of the man's desperate efforts.
As the mutants grew stronger, Kang must have realized he needed a more powerful crossbow.
Survival demanded a weapon that could put a mutant down in a single shot, not just something that could pierce a thin sheet of metal.
He had clearly agonized over weapon designs, pouring his soul into them.
The floor was littered with sketches of net launchers, harpoon guns, traps, and all sorts of contraptions.
Some were singed, others torn, and many bore the aggressive, frustrated scribbles of a ballpoint pen.
Jeron gathered the failed blueprints one by one and carefully packed them into his backpack.
To a layman, the schematics were incomprehensibly complex, but if he took them back to the Karen Continent and studied them, he might be able to replicate something similar.
If he could produce a working prototype, it would be incredibly useful in warfare. This was a massive haul.
"He said he majored in mechanical engineering and advanced materials, but he had a knack for drawing too."
If luck was on his side, he might run into Kang at the agricultural-industrial complex.
If he could persuade the man, he might even bring him to his territory and make him the greatest mechanical engineer on the Karen Continent.
Jeron had died on Earth, but their connection transcended his past life and continued here. It would be quite amusing to see Kang's reaction when he discovered Jeron's true identity.
Jeron stepped out of Classroom 2-3 and headed elsewhere.
Now that he knew the school held decent loot, he planned to spend a few weeks thoroughly sweeping every classroom once he located the library.
Jeron walked with his sword drawn and ready.
With a revolver at his hip and a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder, he felt reasonably secure.
But suddenly, a piercing shriek rang out, and Jeron instantly dropped low.
"Kieeeek!"
"...!"
The blood in his veins ran cold.
The sudden noise startled him so much that he nearly tripped over the mummified corpses lining the floor.
A mutant?
There was no mistake.
Judging by the ripple of mana, it was definitely a mutant's roar.
How could this be?
For the past month, before scavenging the riot police bus, Jeron had always checked the middle school to ensure it was safe before starting his work.
Though the grotesque scenery had made him sigh every time, he had never detected any signs of mutants.
If he had known a mutant was in the school, he would have dealt with it first.
For Jeron, safety was always the top priority.
His mouth went dry.
Clack.
Jeron flinched as he caught sight of a shattered full-length mirror on the wall.
The blood-splattered mirror was half-destroyed.
Even the remaining half was webbed with deep cracks, looking like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Jeron braced himself, ready to open the portal at a moment's notice.
Peering down the third-floor hallway, he cautiously looked left and right.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
Damn, that startled me.
The roar echoed once more.
The piercing shriek sounded much closer than before.
Jeron realized that the mutant's cries were originating from a single, stationary point.
He began to creep toward the source of the noise.
He held his sword in his right hand and his revolver in his left.
The shrieks grew louder.
Soon, Jeron understood why the mutant was screaming, and why it could not move.
"Well, look at that."
"Kiek! Grrr!"
The mutant thrashed wildly upon spotting Jeron.
The creature was not only completely bound by a steel net, but its arms, legs, torso, and neck were pinned to the wall by heavy crossbow bolts.
It thrashed its head side to side, struggling to break free, but its efforts were futile.
This was clearly the work of Blacksmith Kang.
No ordinary bow in this world could pierce a mutant's hide. It was only possible with the aid of modern engineering.
Dark, dried blood clung to the areas where the bolts had penetrated.
Its body was crimson, sporting long claws, a mouth that tore open over thirty centimeters wide, razor-sharp teeth, and a gaunt frame.
It was undoubtedly a mutant, but it was severely weakened.
Perhaps because it had exhausted its mana, its blue aura was incredibly faint.
Jeron was about to kill it immediately when he realized this was the perfect opportunity for an experiment.
When else would he find a bound mutant like this?
He decided against using his gun.
The gunshot would echo indoors, and with the windows shattered, the noise would carry far outside.
Since he was drawing closer to the city, he needed to minimize noise.
Instead, he decided to test it with his sword.
Tap.
The mutant easily deflected Jeron's blade.
A faint blue barrier materialized, blocking the strike.
Jeron tapped the blue barrier a few times.
Ting! Ting!
The shield was remarkably solid.
It was a form of magic Jeron had never seen before, and with this level of durability, it seemed almost impossible to inflict any damage under normal circumstances.
This time, he thrust with all his might.
Clang!
"Huh."
The sword bounced back violently.
Jeron realized that conventional methods would never kill this thing.
He poked around and found that the shield was indeed weaker around the eyes, below the neck, and near the temples.
Jeron channeled his mana into the blade and swung with immense force.
Thwack!
"Oh?"
The sword pierced the shield and bit into the monster's flesh.
The hide was incredibly tough, but it could not entirely stop the sharp blade.
The mutant thrashed its head in agony.
Snap.
In the struggle, one of its arms broke free.
Jeron narrowly dodged a sudden, vicious swipe.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Jeron drove his sword into the creature's skull with everything he had.
Squelch!
"Kieeeek!"
A death rattle echoed through the hall.
The Golden Key on his right palm began to siphon the mutant's mana.
The golden light flared brightly, and his remaining time on Earth was instantly reset.
As a massive amount of mana flooded into him, Jeron felt his entire body brim with power.
Hunting was indeed far more efficient than quiet meditation.
Black blood poured from the creature's head as its body went limp.
It felt as though he had gained a level thanks to Blacksmith Kang. Gathering valuable data on mutants was a welcome bonus.
Jeron wiped his blade and turned around.
"There it is."
At the end of the third-floor hallway, a sign clearly read: [Library].
Given the state of the rest of the school, would the library be intact?
There was no telling.
But even if it was damaged, it was highly unlikely that not a single useful book remained.
Besides, in a ruined world, few people would risk their lives just to scavenge books.
When he was surviving on Earth, food and medical supplies had been his sole focus; he had never thought to utilize the knowledge in books for anything else.
Step, step.
Streaks of dried blood painted the hallway.
Judging by the cracked walls and deep claw marks, a massacre had taken place right outside the library doors.
The library door had been blown off its hinges, and the bookshelves inside were completely overturned.
Naturally, the windows were shattered, letting in the cold wind.
The books near the windows had completely rotted away.
Exposed to years of rain, snow, and humidity, such decay was inevitable.
Jeron sighed.
"Even the library is in this state."
As expected, a slaughter had occurred here as well.
Severed body parts lay scattered about, and many books were ruined, soaked in the blood spilled on that fateful day.
The scene played out vividly in his mind.
The students had likely barricaded the entrance with bookshelves in a desperate bid to survive, but mutants were not slow, mindless zombies.
They would tear down any barrier to reach their prey.
The entrance was so cluttered with fallen bookshelves that it was difficult to even step inside.
Despite the grim state of the room, Jeron began his search.
If he could bring even a fraction of Earth's advanced knowledge back to the Karen Continent, it would spark a massive revolution.
Reference books, novels, music sheets, and humanities textbooks were scattered everywhere.
Most were unrecognizable.
Even if the covers looked fine, the pages inside were warped and ruined by moisture.
Sighing, Jeron walked toward a wall where some books still stood upright on the shelves.
Anything on the floor was as good as trash.
The same went for the books near the windows.
Though few intact books remained, it was a miracle that any had survived at all.
Jeron slowly scanned the titles.
[Basic Middle School Mathematics]
[The Invention and Evolution of the Abacus]
[Shakespeare's Four Great Tragedies and Five Great Comedies]
[The Invention of the Saddle and Stirrup]
[Dust Explosions]
[Understanding the Humanities]
[The Development of Art]
[The Achievements of King Gwanggaeto the Great]
[The Culture of Unified Silla]
[The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty...]
...
"Oh?"
Jeron froze in his tracks.
To be honest, he hadn't expected much after seeing the state of the library.
Finding anything useful here seemed like a long shot, and he had figured it would be better to search a university library, a public library, or a bookstore in the city.
Yet, even this middle school library held treasures.
A few of these books could shake the very foundations of the Karen Continent.
"Saddles and stirrups... and dust explosions. Why didn't I think of that before?"
Saddles and stirrups were absolute game-changers for cavalry, and dust explosions could be used to create primitive explosives based on basic chemistry.
"This might turn out to be a much better haul than I thought."